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topdragon 's review for:
The Spy Who Loved Me
by Ian Fleming
Well that was different…
Ian Fleming really changed things up with his 9th novel in the James Bond series. (Tenth book in the series if you count the collection of novelettes in “For Your Eyes Only”). First, Fleming changes from his usual third person point-of-view to a first person telling of the tale. Second, we don’t see the story unfold from Bond’s eyes but rather from Vivienne “Viv” Michel, a young Canadian lady trying to escape from her unlucky-at-love past and fleeing to small-town America. She gets caught up in what appears to be a mobster crime story, and two dangerous hoodlums.
The novel is broken down into three sections. The first, entitled “Me” allows Viv to tell her own backstory and is the longest part of the novel. It was a strange beginning for a Bond novel; who is this lady and where is Bond? Where is “M” and what is the mission? Why are we following the life of a Canadian gal with a privileged upbringing in her pursuit of doomed love affairs? Give me some double-0 action!
The second part of the novel, “Them” continues Viv’s story as she finds herself in a small rural motel confronted with the two baddies of the novel, Sol Horror, and Sluggsy Morant, (yes, those are their names) who have nefarious plans for the property. Viv is a looker so the two thugs decide to add assault and rape to their plans.
It is not until part three of the novel, “Him” where Bond finally makes his entrance and rescues the damsel in distress. It turns out he is on a mission and it involves the SMERSH gang, two of which are these two thugs. Bond spends more time spilling his mission secrets to this previously unknown woman than he does in taking out the bad guys and even though they prove tougher than the reader would at first suspect given their behavior, Bond eventually triumphs.
Many readers have criticized this particular Bond novel for being so different than the others. After all, it’s not really a “spy” novel at all but much more of a romance with some action sequences thrown in during part three. My opinion differs but then again, I love it when an author takes chances with a proven formula and tries new things. I found this novel quite enjoyable, although a quick read, and didn’t mind the dated attitudes towards women that seem to bother so many of today’s readers. (This is the novel that contains the infamous line from Viv claiming that "all women love semi-rape.") It’s also important to note that this novel is virtually nothing like the movie of the same name. About the only similarity is that one of the two thugs, Sol Horror, has metal-capped teeth. Not exactly Jaws, but there you go.
Ian Fleming really changed things up with his 9th novel in the James Bond series. (Tenth book in the series if you count the collection of novelettes in “For Your Eyes Only”). First, Fleming changes from his usual third person point-of-view to a first person telling of the tale. Second, we don’t see the story unfold from Bond’s eyes but rather from Vivienne “Viv” Michel, a young Canadian lady trying to escape from her unlucky-at-love past and fleeing to small-town America. She gets caught up in what appears to be a mobster crime story, and two dangerous hoodlums.
The novel is broken down into three sections. The first, entitled “Me” allows Viv to tell her own backstory and is the longest part of the novel. It was a strange beginning for a Bond novel; who is this lady and where is Bond? Where is “M” and what is the mission? Why are we following the life of a Canadian gal with a privileged upbringing in her pursuit of doomed love affairs? Give me some double-0 action!
The second part of the novel, “Them” continues Viv’s story as she finds herself in a small rural motel confronted with the two baddies of the novel, Sol Horror, and Sluggsy Morant, (yes, those are their names) who have nefarious plans for the property. Viv is a looker so the two thugs decide to add assault and rape to their plans.
It is not until part three of the novel, “Him” where Bond finally makes his entrance and rescues the damsel in distress. It turns out he is on a mission and it involves the SMERSH gang, two of which are these two thugs. Bond spends more time spilling his mission secrets to this previously unknown woman than he does in taking out the bad guys and even though they prove tougher than the reader would at first suspect given their behavior, Bond eventually triumphs.
Many readers have criticized this particular Bond novel for being so different than the others. After all, it’s not really a “spy” novel at all but much more of a romance with some action sequences thrown in during part three. My opinion differs but then again, I love it when an author takes chances with a proven formula and tries new things. I found this novel quite enjoyable, although a quick read, and didn’t mind the dated attitudes towards women that seem to bother so many of today’s readers. (This is the novel that contains the infamous line from Viv claiming that "all women love semi-rape.") It’s also important to note that this novel is virtually nothing like the movie of the same name. About the only similarity is that one of the two thugs, Sol Horror, has metal-capped teeth. Not exactly Jaws, but there you go.